Category Archives: California

Today we are in iconic Napa Valley. Our first stop is not the usual tourist hot spot. We have an appointment at Tamber Bey.

According to their website: “Vintner Barry Waitte founded Tamber Bey Vineyards in 1999, when he purchased a 60-acre vineyard in the Yountville Appellation and an 11-acre property in the renowned Oakville Appellation. This marked Waitte’s entry into the wine business as a grower. He immediately hired vineyard manager Josh Clark to plant and farm the properties with the goal of growing premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Dijon Chardonnay.”

The winery itself is located at the Sundance Ranch (an homage to Robert Redford – friend of the owners) in Calistoga, a world-class, 22-acre equestrian facility that is dedicated to training top performance horses. . The tasting room is located in the original barn clubhouse. The 16-stall barn surrounds the courtyard, where guests can taste wine and mingle with the horses. A spectacular view of Mount St. Helena and the Palisades frame the setting. The wine barrels are currently stored in what was originally a horse show ring.

The wines were great and the setting was awesome! Sue’s favorite was the Dijon Chardonnay and Paul’s was the Rabicono red blend. This is a great setting for a stop with our Napa winery group with Vino Etcetera . We are still looking for a few dedicated wine enthusiasts to get the group on it’s way!

Everything you need for horses

Careful Sue!

what looks like beer barrels are the juice for topping off the barrels as they age

Sue has been working very hard on assembling the perfect Napa Valley Experience for a select group of wine explorers from September 28 to October 2, 2014

Corienne Winkels, sommelier and proprietor of Vino Etcetera in Oconomowoc will be your enchanting host for this 5 day / 4 night journey into the heart of the most iconic wine country in America.

Our Experience includes: amazing hands-on wine blending, a special welcome BBQ dinner at an estate winery sitting at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains, special wine pairing with cookies!, private cellar tastings, cheese pairing, VIP reception with special country dinner under the stars with build your own wood-fired pizzas and 20 much more.

Our group will participate in many premium planned activities and tastings, but we also built in plenty of free time where you can simply relax and explore on your own.

We are now taking deposits! Group size is strictly limited and deposits must be in by July 10 to reserve your spot on this trip.

Being in the midwest, most of our clients don’t get to Disneyland as often as Disney World. One reason that makes it all worth the trip is for Disney California Adventure, with one of the highlights being Cars Land.

Cars Land opened in 2012 and immerses lucky park visitors in the world of the movie Cars. Walk along Route 66 and visit the 12 acre town of Radiator Springs. There are several fun places to eat: Cozy Cone Motel, Flo’s V8 Cafe, Fillmore’s Taste-in and 3 main attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires.

Here’s some photos of our last visit. Let us know if we can help you with your Disney travels!

A bit north of San Diego and a bit South of LA, the Temecula Valley is an American Viticultural Area in southern Riverside County, California. After attending a 4 day travel conference in Newport Beach last week, we had one day free before heading home. Free day = wine tasting day, what else would you expect?

We rented a car and drove about one and a half hours to Temecula. Historic old town Temecula is a charming collection of circa 1890’s buildings with antique stores, hotels, boutiques, specialty foods and gift stores While we were sorely tempted to stroll around, we just did not have enough time to check it out and still get in a few winery visits. Definitely next time though.

With more than 35 wineries in Temecula valley, there is not enough time to fit them all in, but with a bit of pre-planning we came up with a small handful that we thought we should try. We adjusted our plans as we went along, because once you find a winery you really like, it’s also good to ask them for recommendations on where else to go.

Temecula would be an awesome destination for a small group of wine lovers. It can easily be combined with other activities in San Diego or LA. We can help!